Personal Summary
My name is Bob Cravens. I am an engineer / physicist who works hard at being a good software developer. I am passionate about learning new technologies and I consider myself an early adopter.
Most of my software development experience is on the Microsoft stack. I code mostly in the 'c' languages (c, c++, c#). I learned programming with BASIC and Visual Basic 6. I have many years experience in the MFC / Win32 API paradigm of building software. I much prefer the .NET technologies (WinForms, WPF, WCF, ASP.NET & Silverlight) for building stand-alone and web apps. Although, there's a lot to be said about keeping a web application simple, clean and lean by hand-coding HTML, JavaScript (jQuery), and CSS.
My first computer was a Commodore 64 (64KB of RAM) with an external 5 1/4 inch drive. I updated my computer often during the years when mother-board performance was increasing and software utilization of resources kept pace.
I am a family man with a loving and lovely wife and two kids. My family is multi-cultural. I was the chief instructor at a martial arts school for 10 years. I am a certified dive master. I enjoy golf, even though I don't have time to play enough to be good.
Technical Skills Summary
- HTML CSS JavaScript jQuery
- ASP.NET Silverlight Web Services AJAX
- C,C++,C# Win32 API MFC WinForms
- WPF WCF SQL LINQ
Contacts & Social Networks
Experience & Education
TomoTherapy develops, markets and sells the TomoTherapy® Hi·Art® treatment system, an advanced radiation therapy system for the treatment of a wide variety of cancers. The Hi·Art® treatment system combines integrated CT imaging with conformal radiation therapy to deliver sophisticated radiation treatments with speed and precision while reducing radiation exposure to surrounding healthy tissue.
As a Lead Applied Physicist, I develop software & hardware that helps facilitate the service, commissioning and quality assurance of the treatment and imaging beams. I have led efforts to streamline manufacturing by automating the commissioning process. I am the chief architect of TomoTherapy Quality Assurance (TQA), a web-based quality assurance application.
Black Belt Enterprises was a company that I started that developed and sold martial arts school management software.
During my years managing my martial arts school, I noticed a lot of in-efficiencies in how we managed the day to day business of the school. I developed the Student Manager software to help facilitate and streamline the day-to-day repetive tasks. This Student Manager software utilized a barcode scanner to scan attendance cards. This attendance data was then uses to set alerts on students whose attendance was waining. In addition, personal and demographic data was leveraged to provide a 'personal touch ' services to students.
Karate America was one of the premiere martial art systems in Wisconsin. Around 2002 the system had nearly 30 schools throughout Wisconsin. The system was founded by Mr. Randy Reid. The style of martial art taught is 'American-ize Tae Kwon Do'. Mr. Reid earned his early degrees in a traditional Tae Kwon Do system. He later did a lot of kick boxing. Karate America teaches a mix of Tae Kwon Do, kick boxing, and a mix of other arts.
I was the Chief Instructor at the Karate America located in Westgate Mall. This school had nearly 350 active students ranging in ages from 4 and up. The majority of the students were kids ages 5-12. The martial arts are a great vehicle for children to learn life skills (respect, confidence ...etc). As Chief instructor, I was in charge of developing curriculum and the quality of instruction.
UW-Madison is the flag-ship of the university system in the state of Wisconsin. The school has many strong programs and is located in the state capitol.
During my 10 years at the UW-Madison, I earned a BS & MS in Electrical Engineering. In addition, I completed all required course work for a PhD in EE with a minor in Physics with only the disseration remaining to be completed. The most valuable skillset I earned during these years are a broad background in science & math. Coupled with a strong interest & desire to learn about technology, these skills have served me well over the years.
